Sorry state of media in India

Received this email from the India Against Corruption email group. Thought it asks questions worthy of being asked louder.

Dear friends,

I read and watch with unease the state of media in our country today.

Most of those from the fraternity opine, don’t report, with scant research to back them up. They are driven by a herd mentality.

Senior journalists write/speak on issues at random and keep silent on many other critical stories which they should be writing/speaking on. Some are heavily dictated by their publication/channel leanings or their private interests.

The media creates hype at will, distorts stories and gives a handle to those with vested interests. The partisan news and views influence politicians, judiciary and legislating bodies.

I understand that the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) is a private body and not a legal entity. The Press Club of India (PCI) is a legal body and but yet to widen scope. The new Press Registration and Books (PRB) Act, also, is yet to be passed. It still runs on the 1867 Act.

Such a situation poses immense threat to the nation and to the populace.

It is necessary to raise our voices against this situation and bring the authenticity of news to an even keel. Something needs to be done.

One thought on “Sorry state of media in India”

Very true, and sad. However, media are largely commercial enterprise. One of the reasons for such low coverage of rural news might be that the mainstream news and information may not be consumed by the large chunk of rural India. That audience might be consuming infotainment, but not pure news. Secondly, it may also be true that the rural audiences are very aware of their local context, and therefore are more interested in information and news from the non-rural sector.